The Alton after
being repainted
by Gulf Coast Railroad Museum volunteers.Photo by Don Kendall.

GM&O parlor car Alton is
one of four
identical cars built by American Car & Foundry (ACF) of St. Louis
for
the railroad. These cars provided first class service on the
railroad’s
Chicago to St. Louis streamliners Abraham Lincoln and Anne
Rutledge.
The Alton was ordered by the GM&O in January 1947, and was
delivered
by ACF in December 1947 or January 1948. The other cars were
named
(numbered) Springfield (2107), Bloomington (2108) and St.
Louis (2109).

The cars remained in Chicago-St.
Louis service
until 1971, when the National Railroad Passenger Corp. (AMTRAK) took
over
operation of most passenger trains in the U.S. AMTRAK did not
require
the four cars for its truncated service network, and all were
retired.

In 1972, the Alton was sold
to Southwest
Railroad Car Parts, a scrap dealer based near Longview, Texas.
The
car served as an office and later for storage space. A Gulf Coast
Railroad Museum member brought the car to the attention of the museum’s
board of directors, which negotiated its purchase in 1993. The
$18,000
cost to purchase and move the car to Houston was paid for by donations
from museum members and the general public. The car is now used
for
museum meetings and other events.

The Alton is representative
of the streamline
era of American passenger railroading. However, the Alton
is not a lightweight streamlined car such as those produced by other
car
builders of the period. Rather, the car is built with traditional
heavyweight construction techniques, using riveted steel extensively,
and
rides on three-axle trucks, a type generally not found on lightweight
streamlined
cars.

Interior fixtures are representative
of the era.
Originally fitted with 26 parlor seats and a five-seat drawing room, in
later years two more parlor seats were added to increase
capacity.
The car essentially is a modified coach, with a luggage area
immediately
inside the vestibule door and overhead luggage racks above the parlor
seats,
only six of which remain. The drawing room incorporates a private
toilet, and individual men’s and women’s toilets with annexes are
provided
at the rear (non-vestibule) end of the car. The women’s toilet
annex
incorporates a mirrored, two-seat makeup lounge.

The Alton moved from the scrap yard
near Longview
to the museum in Houston on its own wheels thanks to the efforts of
Gulf
Coast Railroad Museum volunteers, employees of Southwest Railroad Car
Parts
and Union Pacific staff in Longview. Thanks to them all!

Above and two photos below, the Alton as we
first saw it.

Three photos, maneuvering the Alton
to a live track
in the yard.

Above, the scrapyard's "0-4-0" switcher moves the Alton
on
the live track. Photo by Howard Laker. Below, the Alton
in
position for museum volunteers to work on brakes and safety appliances
in preparation for the move to Houston. That's Amtrak's Texas
Eagle flying past

.

Three photos, the Alton arrives
in Houston on the
back of a UP freight train.

Left and below, museum volunteers clean
the car and build
steps for access. The Alton has served as the museum's
primary
meeting space since shortly after its arrival.

Below, the Alton getting a fresh coat of
paint. Click
here to see how the work turned out.

Below, GM&O Train
No. 4 was captured arriving in Chicago and then backing down to the
coach yard on Oct. 31, 1970, by George Hamlin. The parlor car carrying
the markers today is the Alton's sister Bloomington.